Monday, August 23, 2021

Toyota Technical Training Institute Announces Opening Of Admissions For The Year 2021-2022


In its pursuit towards contributing towards Skill India Mission and Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today announced the opening of admissions for the academic year 2021-22 of Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI). TTTI provides free training opportunities to intelligent students from economically weaker sections across Karnataka to become skilled technicians in automobile manufacturing. TTTI’s curriculum focuses on holistic development of the students through knowledge, skill, body and attitude development.  Since inception, more than 650 students have been graduated from TTTI. The TTTI skill trained students have bagged medals at the National Skill Contest and World Skills Contest, thus bringing laurels to the nation.

In this demanding era of technology, the expert skill education is critical to enhance more workplace-ready generation for future. With a focus to bridge the skill-set gap that the industry is grappling with dearth of entry-level talent, TTTI imparts world-class skills training to young talents in rural Karnataka and provides a program that focuses on the holistic development of Knowledge, Skill, Body and Attitude. TTTI is a three-year residential training in Automobile Manufacturing offering four courses namely Automobile Assembly, Automobile Weld, Automobile Paint and Mechatronics. The students undergoing the skill training at TTTI get hands-on-experience to world-renowned “Toyota Production System” in Toyota’s plant at Bidadi.

Toyota Kaushalya (Flexi-MoU Scheme) is designed to cater to the needs of both the industry as well as trainees imparting latest technology-based skill sets. This two-year term free course provides an unique opportunity for the youth to acquire skills relevant to the manufacturing industry and improve their employment potential through a ‘Learn and Earn’ approach, consisting a mix of theoretical and On-the-Job Training (OJT). These youth will be trained by supervisors who are Master Trainers in the Toyota Production System.

TTTI certified students will have an opportunity to appear for National Apprentice Certificate exam. After graduating from TTTI, the students have been employed in Toyota Kirloskar Motor and other Toyota Group companies. Further, TTTI has been recognized by Japan India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM) for promoting Make-in-India and Skill India Mission.

Commenting on the announcement of this academic year’s admissions to TTTI, Mr. G. Shankara, Vice President, Human Resources and Services, TKM, said, “In line with its mission of ‘Producing Happiness for All’, Toyota believes in sharing its know-how and developing youth into world-class technicians. Through TTTI, we have been able to develop a competitive talent pool of industry-ready technicians and contributing to the Skill India Mission”.

TTTI invites applications from students, across Karnataka, for admissions to its 15th batch of regular course and 2nd batch of “Toyota Kaushalya” programs. 

Kindly apply through this link provided -> https://forms.gle/YWNH8XwYadrRfAhH8

For further information and clarification, please contact (mobile) - 9591999668/ 6366839232.

CAs, Lawyers Most Keen To Invest In Commercial Real Estate: Survey


* MYRE Capital Releases MYRE NEO-Realty Survey On Investment Behavior Around Commercial Real Estate Investments

* Bengaluru, Pune, Mumbai among top cities for future fractional CRE investments

* Significant interest from CAs and Lawyers in CRE since they prefer fixed income options that are collateralised with a hard asset

* 36-60 year Old’s are most keen on fractional CRE investments.

* Almost 1/3rd investments from NRI communities - countries like US, UAE, UK, Denmark, Nigeria, Australia

* NRIs aspire to create alternative income source for family in India

Chartered Accountants and Lawyers show the maximum relative interest in investments towards fractional ownership of Commercial Real Estate, reveals the ‘MYRE NEO-Realty Survey’ by MYRE Capital, a neo-realty tech-enabled fractional ownership platform. Other segments of the investor and user base includes Doctors, IT professionals, Entrepreneurs, and other business owners. These investors prefer fixed income options that are collateralised with a hard asset and have started appreciating the favourable risk-return profile of fractional CRE and the end-to-end management provided by fractional ownership platforms.

MYRE Capital conducted a nationwide MYRE NEO-Realty Survey collecting responses from over 1500 high-ticket registered users and investors. According to the survey, 68% of interested investors in Commercial Real Estate (CRE) are within the age group of 36-60 years. 15% of the interested investors are between the age group of 25-35 years while remaining 17% interested investors belonged to the age group of above 60 years. Though investors belonging to 60 years and above, have traditionally been averse to alternative investments, the trend is changing. CRE is enabling these investors to earn a collateral-backed steady monthly inflow with the probability of additional benefit of annual capital appreciation realized over time. This enables investors to realise additional gains at the time of exit due to capital appreciation.

Commercial Real Estate has always been the affair of either financial institutions or affluent families, primarily due to high entry price. The survey highlights some key needs and changes required by investors in the traditional form of investing in CRE like easier access to opportunities (33%), increased transparency (20%), data symmetry (21%), and streamlining of processes (24%). Fractional ownership platforms are addressing these issues to bring more trust and transparency in India’s CRE market.

MYRE Capital’s Founder and CEO, Aryaman Vir said, “Fractional investment has long existed in India but in an unorganised manner. Even now, investors limit themselves to residential real estate as their only choice of investment and we want them to be aware of CRE as an effective avenue. The most common challenges like large ticket size, operational tasks, lengthy and complicated documentation, lack of expertise and trust is being solved by our platform to make this a more inclusive and accessible asset class. We believe that, with the regulations shaping out, investors will become more comfortable to place their trust in CREs and will be able to earn great returns from promising real estate opportunities in the country.”

The report also indicates that the investment preferences of investors vary with age. Young investors have a high risk-high return appetite and are ready to geographically diversify their property investments. Older investors prefer a low risk investment option with collateral-backed stable fixed income as many of them are retired and do not have a regular source of income. CRE is a unique asset class as it caters to the requirements of both segments. Individuals looking for a stable fixed income source can achieve relatively high yields via the monthly rental income. Since fractional ownership opportunities are secured by an underlying hard asset, the risk profile fits well with the objectives of conservative investors. Such opportunities are also preferred by younger investors that are looking for double digit annualized returns – factoring in the annual capital appreciation, such investors can earn 17%-25% IRR without having to compromise on their risk exposure.

While investing in traditional CRE, the basic challenges that young investors face are high ticket prices, lack of expertise and exposure; older investors face issues pertaining to lack of trust, burden of day to day operational management, and fair value determination. However, investing via fractional ownership gives these investors the chance to invest in institutional grade properties with twice the yield of FD returns, transparent Investor Dashboard facility which builds their trust and the capital is preserved with monthly returns. Further such platforms provide end-to-end management for the entire life-cycle of the investment.

As the demographics in India are transitioning to a more equitable gender distribution, CRE has seen increased participation from female investors. The survey reveals that from the total set of individuals that were surveyed,  ~41% were female users and investors. This gender distribution is relatively more equitable than most investment avenues.

As mentioned in the survey, in the shorter term, investors have highlighted rental income, reallocation of profits realized in equity markets, diversification of capital and effective monthly cash flow alternative as the driving factor with regards to their interest in fractional CRE. On the other hand, list of long-term goals for the same investors include, CRE portfolio creation, wealth creation, capital appreciation and capital preservation.

The fractional space has gained significant traction in India, with MYRE Capital receiving NRI traction from over 14+ countries along with domestic users from 16+ cities in India.The survey shows that cities are gaining maximum traction among other key markets. Bangalore takes the lead with 27% of investors showing interest in fractional ownership, followed by 21% interested in Pune’s real estate. The survey also identifies that India is being seen as an emerging market for investments by the NRI community with almost a third of the respondents from countries like US, UAE, UK, Denmark, Nigeria, Australia, etc.

Fractional ownership platforms are making it viable for retail investors to participate in institutional grade rent-yielding properties from a minimum investment size of 25Lacs. MYRE Capital was launched on January, 2021 and has aggregated three Grade-A real estate properties in its assets under management totalling to INR ~70cr+.  The platform aims to conduct the MYRE NEO-Realty Survey annually to understand preferences and emerging challenges faced by their users in order to address them and develop technology solutions for a better customer experience.

About MYRE Capital:

MYRE Capital, a venture by Morphogenesis, is a tech-enabled fractional ownership platform that provides easy access, transparency, and liquidity to a curated selection of rent-yielding commercial real estate assets. Each asset is selected based on stringent criteria involving predictive analytics across 30+ data points, 25 years of industry expertise, and our proprietary SOUL© process. The company has been founded by Mr. Aryaman Vir with his expertise in the development and application of algorithms, big data analytics, and machine, capitalizing on 25 years of industry knowledge.

MYRE Capital provides real estate owners and developers a reliable source of stable finance whilst providing potential investors and stakeholders with end-to-end management and execution thus enabling them to redevelop trust in this asset class and reposition the Indian real estate market on a global platform.   

Netafim India Introduces Revolutionary “Portable Drip Kit” For Today’s Farmer


* The company, through the kit aims to cover 10,000 hectares of land under drip irrigation and reach 25,000 marginal farmers across India in the upcoming year

* The cost-effective, all-in-one irrigation solution brings several Netafim products under one umbrella and offers modular system that save installation cost

Netafim India, a leading smart irrigation solution provider, has unveiled revolutionary “Portable Drip Kit” – a comprehensive all-in-one irrigation solution that is easy to install and comes at an affordable price. The kit is designed, particularly for small farmers with farmland up to one acre that offers installation assistance without additional labour. The Portable Drip kit is available across India through Netafim’s dealer network. It is suitable for all types of Rabi and Kharif crops varieties including vegetables, cucurbits, close spacing crops etc. 

The company through the launch of the Portable Drip Kit aims to cover 10,000 hectares of land under irrigation and reach 25,000 farmers across India in the upcoming year. In Karnataka, the company intend to reach additional 5% of the farmer community and cover ~1500 hectare of the marginal farmland under drip irrigation. 

Addressing the diverse operational and environmental needs of today’s farmers, the kit with several Netafim systems under one umbrella provides user-friendly, lightweight and moveable solutions to match their unique requirements. Designed for irrigation of 4500 m2 fields, all the products and parts can be easily installed and dissembled after use to relocate at a convenient storage space. Additionally, the kit is integrating advanced durable drippers that provide excellent operational performance. 

The key component of the kit is FlexNet™ - a ground-breaking leak-proof flexible mainline and manifold piping solution that offers precise water delivery solution and increases water savings as well as improves crop performance potential through enhanced system performance. It reduces weeding and muddy spots thanks to perfect sealing between the patented outlets and the pipe, which guarantees to provide top performance over many years. It offers a full line of lateral connectors compatible with all Netafim systems. The white colouring offers thermal resistance and can withstand high chemical and UV exposure. 

Speaking about innovation, Mr. Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director - Netafim India, commented, “Netafim India focuses its energies on simplifying cultivation process for farmers and empowering them on the road to growth. We understand that most farmers in India hold fragmented land pieces smaller than 1 acre. Such conditions make crop cultivation a daunting and challenging task for them. The debut of Portable Drip Kit is a result of Netafim’s continued commitment to offer convenient technology, especially to marginal farmers for improved yield potential and productivity, while reducing costs, labour and bring efficiency to water use.” 

The Portable Drip Kit includes all needed components for field installation and operation that comprises of Screen filter, FlexNet pipe, Dripline and Connectors. 

About Netafim India 

Netafim India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Netafim, the global leader in smart irrigation solutions for sustainable productivity. Established in 1997, Netafim India offers a wide range of micro-irrigation, greenhouse, digital farming solutions and Community irrigation projects. Netafim India with 3 manufacturing plants, over 1000 employees and an exclusive network of over 2500 dealers across all the major states have provided an irrigation system for over 10 lakh hectares of land over the years covering a wide range of crops. The company has successfully offered extensive agronomic, design, after-sales support, and agri-extension services to ensure sustainable prosperity to over 9.5 lakh farming families to date. Netafim India is an active partner in several government projects like GGRC, APMIP and TANHODA. 

Paytm, HDFC Bank Announce Strategic Partnership For Delivering Financial Solutions To End Consumers And Merchants Across India


* To launch innovative products across Digital Payments, Lending and POS solutions  

* Combining HDFC Bank’s retail products/network with Paytm’s technology platform to drive financial inclusion 

India’s leading digital ecosystem for consumers and merchants (1), Paytm and India’s largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership. 

This brings together two market leaders who will drive innovative digital solutions for financial transformation in the country by combining their strengths in the banking, lending, and digital payments space. 

The fusion of HDFC Bank’s network, products and credit appraisal capabilities and Patym’s technological platform will accelerate digital transformation in semi-urban and rural India while bringing more people into formal banking channels. Paytm is India’s largest payments platform* with 333 million users and 21 million merchants onboard (1).  

With over 50 million card customers (both credit and debit cards) HDFC Bank is a strong player in the payments ecosystem with leadership in both credit card issuing and acquiring businesses. It has a footprint of over two million merchant acceptance points and 48 per cent business  market share on  merchant acquiring volume. It remains the number one credit card issuer in the country with a spend share of over 27 per cent.  

Through this partnership, Paytm & HDFC Bank will build comprehensive solutions across Payment Gateway, POS Machines and Credit Products including Paytm Postpaid which is Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution, Eazy EMI and Flexi Pay, and more. 

The first leg of the partnership will include Payment Gateway and POS Solutions for Indian merchant partners. 

The partnership between Paytm and HDFC Bank will aim to empower the new businesses, which have recently ventured online, and enable them to scale up further.  

Paytm and HDFC Bank are coming together for two broad POS offerings: 

* HDFC Bank will drive merchant partnerships across India, to whom Paytm will offer its existing range of Android POS devices. Through the partnership, HDFC Bank's salespersons will start selling Paytm’s payment solutions in the market. HDFC Bank will be the payment partner, while Paytm will be the distribution and software partner. 

* Paytm and HDFC Bank will jointly launch a co-branded POS product in the retail segment, which Paytm will have the option to offer it to its own customer base. 

Talking about the partnership, Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending said, “We are extremely delighted to partner with HDFC Bank, which has been one of the leaders in the retail lending space in our country for the last two decades. Together we aim to provide innovative digital lending & payment solutions for consumers and merchants alike. This partnership will further strengthen financial services ecosystem by bringing together our technology and digital solutions and HDFC Bank’s retail and credit prowess.” 

Renu Satti, COO, Offline Payments, commenting on the partnership said, “Paytm’s reach in the offline & online merchant space and HDFC Bank’s retail influence, will aim for dynamic growth in the payments space. Paytm has a history of launching innovative products that have made way for the adoption of retail payments among various merchant partners. This partnership aims to bring innovative products focusing on affordability.” 

Parag Rao, Group Head – Payments, Consumer Finance, Digital Banking & IT, HDFC Bank said, “As India’s largest issuing and acquiring bank, we have always endeavoured to personalise our offerings to customers-consumers, businesses and corporate houses. Through this partnership, we will also be jointly delivering enhanced SmartHub solutions to the market.  We believe that this is the start of a great partnership and the cumulative strength of both HDFC Bank and Paytm will help us strengthen our respective leadership positions”. 

HDFC Bank SmartHub solutions is an integrated platform offering merchants a one-stop solution shop for all their business needs-payments, banking, lending and segment-specific business solutions. 

KJS Cement Ltd, FY 2020-21 Net Profit Up 6.43% To Rs. 65.44 Crore


* EBITDA Up by 5.54% to Rs. 199.44 Crores 

* Cash Profit rises to Rs 122.16 crore 

KJS Cement (I) Limited reported a profit of Rs 65.44  crores for the year ended March 31, 2021, a 36.43% increase over Rs 47.96 crores registered for the last fiscal. EBITDA stood at RS 199.44 crores for the year against 188.96 crore in the corresponding period. Total sales and income from operations rose to Rs 1,165.63 crores. The company reported a cash profit of Rs 122.16 crores against Rs 96.94 crores last year. 

During the FY, KJS Cement (I) Limited registered cement sales of 1718019.72 MT and 593250.64 MT of Clinker sale, a considerable increase over the last fiscal, enabled through streamlining of sales and marketing on the ground. This was further fuelled by increased demand due to many infrastructure projects of the government and private entities. 

Speaking on the results, Vice Chairman and Director, Mr Pawan Kumaar Ahluwalia said, “KJS Cement has recorded strong performance across all parameters this year; despite the challenging ecosystem due to the pandemic. The company is consistently enhancing shareholder value through growth initiatives and innovative strategies. We are leveraging our ability to engineer technology to produce environment-friendly products and taking them to markets where the demand, customer preference and knowledge for such products are at a nascent stage. On a year to year basis, for the year ending March 31, 2021, the cash profits of our company have grown to Rs. 122.16 crores. Going forward, combining a lean and learning culture with strong engineering capabilities, KJS Cement is geared to capitalize on the emerging opportunities in the infrastructure sector.” 

About KJS Cement 

KJS Cement (I) Limited is a part of KJS Group of Industries which has a presence in Cement, Mining, Iron & Steel, Power, Media, Logistics, and Infrastructure development such as Housing, Hotels and Commercial space development. A leading cement manufacturer, KJS cement started production in 2012 and is catering to markets in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. KJS Cement has one of the most ultra-modern cement plants in India with machinery and technology imported from FL. Smidth& Co, Denmark and Loesche Germany. The cement plant is located at Satna, Madhya Pradesh. The company produces both premium and all-purpose use cement. With a strong network of 4,500+ dealers and retailers supported by a strong marketing team of 100 officers and a well-equipped team of 150 technical support officers, the company is committed to serving the multi-faceted needs of consumers. 

Sonu Sood Backed GoodWorker Appoints Ex QuikrJobs - Amit Jain As Chief Executive Officer


Backed by the Lemmatree Group, noted actor, Sonu Sood and Schoolnet; GoodWorker, a digital platform aiming to help blue/grey collar workers in India and transform their lives through career enhancement opportunities, has fortified its senior leadership with the appointment of Amit Jain as its CEO. 

In a career spanning over two decades, Amit has led large cross-functional teams across industries. He is passionate about the technology space and believes in the potential of digital platforms to transform lives. He is a business leader with a strong understanding of how to build and make business sustainable. In his previous stint, with Quikr, Amit Jain was instrumental in building QuikrJobs from scratch and turning it into a profitable business. Along with his focus on key departments he was also spearheading the HR function 

Glenn Gore, Group CEO, LemmaTree said, “Finding a CEO who has strong alignment to the GoodWorker vision was critical to deliver the impact that GoodWorker can have on  blue/grey collar workers, this was a search that we were not going to rush or compromise on. 

We wanted to make sure that the person we get to lead the company is not just result driven but is aligned with our core objective of 'transforming lives' of millions of youth across India. Amit is the perfect choice for the role, given his strong understanding of the industry and his belief in the purpose. Looking at his strong leadership skills and empathetic attitude, we are confident that his ideas and strategies would accelerate GoodWorker’s growth." 

On his appointment, Amit Jain, CEO, GoodWorker said, “GoodWorker's vision for becoming an all-encompassing digital life partner for the youth in India in the blue/grey collar job space is both inspirational and ambitious. Realising this vision requires a multi-pronged approach with a strong ability to invest & execute in a sustained manner; I believe, this is something that we would be able to deliver on, especially with the partner ecosystem, the team that we have put together & given the strong backing of the Affinidi group.” 

Amit Jain has graduated from Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi and has done his PGDBM in Sales & Marketing from XLRI, Jamshedpur.  

About GoodWorker 

GoodWorker is a digital platform, which aims to transform the lives of youth in India by providing direct, trusted & efficient access to blue/grey collar entry level jobs and quality of life services. It harnesses Affinidi’s digital verifiable credential technology to enable the youth to access various lifestyle services such as identity, finance and more. The company’s vision is to create value for youth and employers, impacting 100 million lives by 2030 

GoodWorker is headquartered in Bengaluru, India, and Affinidi Group in Singapore with a hub in India, Berlin and Germany. 

Wahab Yusoff Joins On The Board Of Cybersecurity Firm Vehere In Singapore


Cyber Situational Awareness firm Vehere announced the appointment of Wahab Yusoff as an Advisor to the Board. He will be based out of Singapore and shall be assisting Vehere in building its presence across the ASEAN Region. 

Yusoff has over three decades of rich experience in Cybersecurity and Information Technology, with a focus on assisting organizations to scale operations in the Asia Pacific Region. He has expertise in IT Security and a proven track record of driving corporate growth and development in the APAC region. 

Yusoff is the Vice President of the Asia Pacific and Japan region for Forescout Technologies. Prior to that, he worked for reputed companies such as Palo Alto Networks, McAfee, Dell EMC, and Documentum. Additionally, he also serves on the Boards of Changi Airport Group, Workforce Singapore, EZ-Link Pte Ltd, and Rekanext VC. 

Praveen Jaiswal, Founder & CSO of Vehere, said, “With his nuanced understanding of the industry and business, Wahab adds great value and dimension in furthering Vehere’s growth ambitions in the ASEAN Region. His years of experience in business development in the region makes him highly suitable to open newer markets for our products and attest the company’s command and ascendancy.” 

On his part, Yusoff said, “I’m pleased to join Vehere and be part of the company’s exciting journey. I’m hopeful of a meaningful collaboration that will bolster Vehere’s vision of enhanced presence and expansion in the region.” 

Yusoff holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore and a Post Graduate degree in Finance, Strategic Planning, Marketing, and HR from Heriot-Watt University. 

Total Pageviews